http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=5251&cat=1By
a CorrespondentTHE magistrates’ court on 9 February 2009 heard how prison
officers had whisked detained freelance photojournalist Anderson Shadreck
Manyere from the Avenues Clinic in Harare on 6 February 2009 before he had been
accorded full medical treatment.Defence lawyer Aleck Muchadehama described
to Harare magistrate Gloria Takundwa how Manyere was forcibly taken away from
the clinic by prisons officers without any explanation and without due regard to
his medical condition.This is despite an existing order by High Court judge
Justice Tedious Karwi for the state to complete investigations on allegations by
the accused that they had been tortured while in unlawful detention.The
judge also ordered that Manyere be accorded medical treatment at health
institutions of his own choice.Manyere who is being charged with six
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists on alleged acts of banditry,
sabotage and terrorism, failed yet again to appear in court for remand because
prison officials did not have fuel for transport to bring them to
court.Muchadehama pleaded with the magistrate to ensure that the state
complies with court orders and that a trial date be fixed by the next remand
date on 16 February 2009. Florence Ziyambi representing the state said
investigations had been completed and that a docket had since been submitted to
the Attorney-General’s Office.Ziyambi said she would enquire with the prison
officers as to why they had disrupted the accused’s medical treatment. On the
issue of the trial date, she said that would be done as soon as they perused the
docket in question.The magistrate directed the state to submit a report on
the complaints raised by the accused and to inform both the court and accused on
the progress of investigations as well as obtain a report from prison officials
on why they disrupted Manyere’s medical treatment at the Avenues
clinic.Meanwhile, Muchadehama also told the court that detained Zimbabwe
Peace Project director and former television news anchor Jestina Mukoko required
urgent medical attention. The matter was deferred to 11 February 2009 since
Mukoko was not in court at the material time.Mukoko who was allegedly
abducted from her home in Norton on the outskirts of Harare on 3 December 2008
and went missing for almost two weeks until her appearance in court on 24
December 2008, is still to be
charged.

Put human rights at the top of the political agendaAmnesty
International

http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGAFR460092009&lang=eAs
the political parties in Zimbabwe set up an inclusive government, Amnesty
International is calling on the new government to place human rights at the top
of its agenda.The inauguration of an inclusive government is an important
opportunity for the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front and the
two formations of the Movement for Democratic Change to demonstrate to the
Zimbabwean people and rest of the world that they are committed to a future
where human rights are truly and fully respected, protected, promoted and
fulfilled.Since 2000, the human rights situation in Zimbabwe has
deteriorated sharply. Amnesty International is concerned about the role played
by the security forces in silencing perceived political opponents including
human rights defenders and political activists from opposition parties. In
addition, the rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression
have been curtailed with almost total impunity.Amnesty International remains
concerned about the plight of hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans whose homes
and businesses were destroyed during Operation Murambatsvina in 2005.Amnesty
International is also concerned about the deteriorating economic and social
conditions in Zimbabwe. In particular, the organisation is concerned about the
increased food insecurity, collapse of public health, and failing education
system.The first 100 days of the new administration offers the chance for
President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai to take
concrete steps to demonstrate the commitment of the new government to
internationally recognized human rights, including those guaranteed under the
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The new government should ensure full compliance
with Zimbabwe's international and regional human rights obligations and
commitments, as explicitly set out in the treaties it has ratified.Amnesty
International is calling on the government to implement a clear agenda for human
rights which includes the following five points:The new government should
immediately and unconditionally release Prisoners of Conscience Jestina Mukoko,
Broderick Takawira, and Pascal Gonzo. It should also either promptly charge all
known and unknown political detainees with recognizable crimes, and ensure
prompt and fair trial for them, or release them immediately.The new
government should commit itself to opening up the operational environment for
all NGOs and human rights groups, political parties and independent
media.The new government should publicly acknowledge all human rights
violations by the previous government, commit to establishing the truth, and
take effective measures to guarantee non-repetition.The new government
should immediately end partisan policing and combat impunity for human rights
violations by the security forces.The new government should prioritise the
full realisation of all economic, social and cultural rights including rights to
food, health, education and housing. Where it is unable to meet its minimum core
obligations, it should seek international assistance.1. RELEASE ALL
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE AND ENSURE PROMPT AND FAIR TRIAL FOR POLITICAL
DETAINEESAt least 30 people are known to be still in custody following a
wave of enforced disappearances that started at the end of October 2008. The
MDC-T claims that about 11 of their members are also missing. Those in detention
include Jestina Mukoko, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), an NGO
involved in monitoring and documenting human rights violations. Jestina Mukoko
was abducted from her home in Norton by state security agents on 3 December
2008. For about three weeks her whereabouts remained unknown. Broderick Takawira
and Pascal Gonzo, both male, were abducted by state security agents from the ZPP
offices in Harare on 8 December. The three human rights workers were later
handed to the police by their abductors on or around 23 December and have
remained in custody despite a High Court ruling declaring their abduction and
subsequent arrest and detention unlawful. Amnesty International considers the
three human rights workers to be prisoners of conscience.Amnesty
International calls on the new government to:Immediately and unconditionally
release all Prisoners of Conscience.Ensure that all known and unknown
political detainees are promptly charged with recognizable crimes in accordance
with international fair trial standards, or are released immediately.2.
IMPROVE THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FOR NGOs AND HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS, POLITICAL
PARTIES AND INDEPENDENT MEDIASince 2000 the government has taken measures to
silence all critics of its policies. Hundreds of human rights defenders have
been arbitrarily arrested and unlawfully detained by the police after exercising
their rights to peaceful protest and freedom of association. Scores have been
tortured while in police custody for exercising these rights. Police have used
excessive force to break up peaceful protests often resulting in serious
injuries. In June 2008, the government suspended the operations of all
non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Although the suspension was later lifted
for humanitarian organisations, other organisations including human rights
groups continue to face obstacles including harassment and intimidation.In
the run up to the 27 June election, the Zimbabwean security forces were
implicated in the abduction, killing, and torture of known and suspected
supporters of the then opposition parties. About 190 people died and at least
10,000 people were injured. Many people are still missing following the wave of
state-sponsored violence.The government has also restricted the activities
of private media organisations including by banning critical media organisations
such as the Daily News, Radio Voice of the People and others. Journalists have
been targeted for arrests and some have been denied registration by the Media
and Information Commission.Amnesty International calls on the new government
to:Immediately cease all intimidation, arbitrary arrests and torture by the
police and other state security forces of government critics.Immediately
drop charges against all people arrested and charged for exercising their
internationally recognised rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of association
and expression.Immediately review and amend existing rules that facilitate
unjustified use of force, in order to bring them into full compliance with the
UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force or Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials
and related standards.Immediately remove unnecessary restrictions on the
media and allow independent media to operate freely.3. DEAL WITH PAST HUMAN
RIGHTS VIOLATIONSAmnesty International is appealing to the new government to
institute a series of measures to break the culture of impunity which has
persisted since 2000, and which was a major factor in serious violations of
economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights.International human
rights treaties such as the ICCPR guarantees to everyone the right to an
effective remedy. The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights also provides
guarantee to everyone the right to appeal to competent national bodies against
violations of the internationally recognized human rights. Furthermore, states
must establish the facts about violations of human rights that have occurred;
they must investigate those violations and bring suspected perpetrators to
justice; and they must provide victims and their families with reparation, in
the form of restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and
guarantees of non-repetition.Amnesty International urges the new government
to:Immediately establish an independent commission of enquiry to look into
all aspects of human rights violations in Zimbabwe since 2000. The terms of
reference of the commission and its members should be determined on the basis of
broad public consultation with all sectors of society, including the victims.
The members of the commission should be appointed on the basis of their
recognized impartiality, competence, integrity and independence. Efforts should
be made to ensure adequate representation of women. The terms of reference of
the commission should mandate it to include in its final report recommendations
on legislative and other action to combat impunity. The report of the commission
should immediately be made public upon its finalisation.Undertake prompt,
thorough, independent and impartial investigations of human rights violations
and ensure that those responsible for crimes, particularly crimes under
international law and other serious human rights violations are brought to
justice.Ensure that victims receive reparations and have the possibility to
seek redress in civil or other proceedings from those responsible for human
rights violations. The new government should not take any measures that take
away the victims' right to full and effective remedies, including restitution,
compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of
non-repetition.Take the necessary steps to ensure the prompt ratification,
without reservations, of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.Set up a national Human Rights
Commission in conformity with the Paris Principles. The commission should be
granted full independence and freedom of action and resources to conduct its
work, and have a broad mandate to cover Zimbabwe's long history of human rights
violations, including violations that took place in the 1980's in the Midlands
and Matabeleland provinces.4. END PARTISAN POLICING AND COMBAT IMPUNITY FOR
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY THE SECURITY FORCESSome units in the Law and
Order section of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Zimbabwe Republic
Police (ZRP) appear to operate under political instructions and without
accountability to the ZRP command structures. Several victims have testified
before Zimbabwean courts about their torture and other ill-treatment while in
the custody of the Law and Order section. For example, on or around 23 December
2008 the section received victims of enforced disappearance from their
abductors. Even though the courts had ruled that the abduction of some of the
victims was unlawful, no-one was arrested. Senior officers from the Law and
Order section were complicit in ensuring that the victims were unable to
identify the perpetrators. Hundreds of people have been severely beaten while in
the custody of the Law and Order section simply for belonging to opposition
parties or a human rights group.Amnesty International urges the new
government to:Reform relevant units of the ZRP to ensure that they are not
used as instruments to perpetrate human rights violations. Public officials and
employees, in particular those in the security forces, should receive
comprehensive and ongoing training in human rights standards and their
implementation. If the new government is unable to undertake this exercise it
should immediately seek international support and collaborate with civil society
organisations to implement such training.Ensure that those in the Law and
Order section implicated in human rights violations, including torture and other
forms of ill-treatment, are held accountable and removed from public office. The
officers who carried out the violations as well as their superiors should be
held to account.Put in place effective oversight mechanisms for the security
forces so that action is taken promptly to ensure lawful practices at all
times.Invite the AU and the UN to send human rights monitors to monitor the
activities of the security forces and to investigate allegations of human rights
violations perpetrated by the security forces.5. PRIORITISE THE FULL
REALISATION OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTSRetrogressive government
policies and practices have led directly to the reduction of the entire
population's access to food, healthcare, education and housing. Hyper inflation
has also eroded the capacity of both rural and urban populations to access food.
In 2008, the country experienced serious shortages of seed and
fertilizer.Food security - nearly half of Zimbabwe's population is dependent
on food aid from the World Food Programme. Despite the high levels of food
insecurity and in clear violation of its obligations under international human
rights law, the government has consistently used food as a tool to demand
loyalty in rural areas. People suspected of supporting the then opposition
parties were denied access to cheap maize sold through the state-owned Grain
Marketing Board (GMB). In the run-up to the 27 June presidential election
thousands of rural farmers' food reserves were plundered or destroyed as a
punishment for supporting opposition parties. The government also effectively
blocked access to food aid ahead of the presidential election by banning the
field operations of humanitarian organisations between 4 June and the end of
August.Health - public hospitals and clinics are in need of major
rehabilitation following many years of neglect by the state. Most health centres
are barely functioning - with malfunctioning equipment, no medicines and with
health workers on strike over poor working conditions and low wages. Where
health institutions are still functioning, most patients cannot afford
transportation to get there. Private healthcare is unaffordable for the vast
majority. The situation is so severe that a cholera outbreak that began in
August 2008 has killed over 3,300 people and the death toll keeps rising.
Efforts to counter the epidemic, which has spread to all 10 of Zimbabwe's
provinces, have been undermined by a shortage of safe drinking water, inadequate
sanitation, the collapsing healthcare infrastructure, and the high drop out rate
of underpaid health workers.Education - Many teachers have left for
neighbouring countries often to do menial jobs in order to support families back
in Zimbabwe. Children living in poverty in Zimbabwe are losing out on their
education. In January 2009, most public schools failed to open as teachers were
on strike over poor salaries or could not afford transport to work.Housing -
Hundreds of thousands of people who were forcibly evicted during Operation
Murambatsvina in 2005 continue to live in destitution. Forced evictions are a
gross violation of human rights and contravene a number of international and
regional human rights treaties to which Zimbabwe is a state party. Operation
Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle, ostensibly the government's attempt to remedy the
effects of the forced evictions, did not benefit the victims of the evictions.
The programme was exposed by Amnesty International as a public relations
exercise which benefited civil servants and others connected to the former
ruling party. Few houses were built compared to the number of those destroyed,
and of those that were built many were uninhabitable, lacking doors, windows,
toilets and access to clean water.Amnesty International urges the new
government to:Ensure non-discrimination in access to and distribution of
food, including grain sold by the GMB. Humanitarian organisations providing food
and other aid should have unimpeded access.Urgently take steps, including
through seeking international cooperation and assistance, to strengthen health
services. Prioritise the provision of a minimum essential package of
health-related services and facilities for the whole population and the
development and adoption of a comprehensive national health plan.Ensure the
realisation of the right to education, in particular the right to free and
compulsory primary education through the improvement of material conditions for
teaching staff and the provision of a living wage.Fully implement the
recommendations contained in the 2005 Report of the UN Special Envoy of Human
Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe. Develop a comprehensive human rights-based
housing programme to address the housing needs of all victims of Operation
Murambatsvina.Seek international cooperation and assistance to ensure
minimum essential levels of economic, social and cultural rights for the whole
population, in particular food, housing, safe drinking water and sanitation,
essential health care and primary
education.

Zimbabwe Critical As Dollar Falls

Sky Newshttp://news.sky.com/ 6:22am
UK, Tuesday February 10, 2009Emma Hurd, Africa correspondentSky News has
uncovered new evidence of the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe where
the cholera epidemic has claimed more than 3000 lives.A patient is pushed on
a wheelbarrow to hospitalIn one small village in Mashonaland West we filmed
a family who had been stricken by the disease.The grandparents were lying
untreated in their own waste, while two small children were also displaying the
first signs of cholera.Family members said they could not afford to pay for
the transport to take their relatives to the nearby clinic.Aid agencies said
the number of cases of cholera is quadrupling every week in some rural
areas.The crisis adds to the urgency surrounding the formation of the new
Government of National Unity.Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai is due to
be sworn in as the country's Prime Minister on Wednesday after five months of
political wrangling over the power-sharing deal.Robert Mugabe, blamed for
leading the country to economic ruin, will remain as President and may continue
to wield significant power.Morgan TsvangiraiSky News travelled across
Zimbabwe to document the state of the country on the eve of what could be a new
era for the troubled nation.In the rural areas many families are now
surviving on just one meal a day and are resorting to scavenging for roots and
berries.Charence Nunduro has a family of nine to feed and only has enough
maize to last him for another four days."There is no work here, so there's
no money and no food," he said.The Zimbabwe Dollar, now available in
denominations of 100 trillion notes, is so worthless that even the informal
vendors will not accept it.Women selling tomatoes by the side of the road in
Harare insist on being paid in US dollars or South African Rands.Most
ordinary Zimbabweans have no way of obtaining foreign currency.The
government does not have the reserves to pay civil servants, including teachers,
nurses, the police and the army, in anything but the disastrous Zimbabwe Dollar
which loses value by the second.Mr Tsvangirai is expected to use his
inauguration speech to appeal for international funding to rescue
Zimbabwe.But major donors, including Britain, will be reluctant to pour
money into the crippled country until there is evidence that the power-sharing
deal is going to work.There is much scepticism over the agreement that will
allow Robert Mugabe, who waged a campaign of terror to keep his political
opponents out of government during last year's elections, to retain the balance
of
power.---------http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Zimbabwe-Morgan-Tsvangirai-To-Become-PM-Mugabe-President-Power-Sharing-Needs-To-Work-For-Aid/Article/200902215219825?lpos=World_News_First_World_News_Article_Teaser_Region_2&lid=ARTICLE_15219825_Zimbabwe%3A_Morgan_Tsvangirai_To_Become_PM%2C_Mugabe_President%2C_Power_Sharing_Needs_To_Work_For_Aid

Zimbabwe Ruling Party To Propose Anti-Sanctions Parliamentary
Motion

http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-02-09-voa45.cfmBy
Ntungamili Nkomo & Peta ThornycroftWashington/Harare09 February
2009Zimbabwe's parliament was set to take up legislation on Tuesday to
create a national security council as a complement to a unity government, while
the ruling ZANU-PF party said it would submit a motion calling for the lifting
of sanctions imposed by Western countries on President Robert Mugabe and his
inner circle - though observers doubted it would pass.Though ZANU-PF and the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change agreed in principle in their Sept. 15
power-sharing accord that Western sanctions should be lifted, it was far from
evident that the MDC majority in the lower house of parliament would back the
measure, especially as ZANU-PF has yet to meet a number of MDC power-sharing
conditions.Parliament last week unanimously passed an amendment to the
constitution enabling the formation of a long-delayed national unity government,
and was expected to endorse the national security council legislation. That
would set the stage for the swearing-in of MDC founder Morgan Tsvangirai as
prime minister with deputies Arthur Mutambara, head of the rival MDC formation,
and Thokozani Khupe, Tsvangirai's second in his formation.The MDC demanded
the national security council as a check on the power and activities of the
security apparatus which has played a major role in political repression and
violence, especially in the wake of national elections last March when
abductions and murders were rife.The power-sharing parties were said to be
working overtime vetting names of those to be named ministers amid feverish
speculation as to the composition of the government.Spokesman Nelson Chamisa
of the Tsvangirai MDC formation told reporter Ntungamili Nkomo of VOA's Studio 7
for Zimbabwe that the cabinet will not be named until Friday, but that
Tsvangirai will lay out a plan for national revival when he is sworn in
Wednesday.Political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said he was skeptical the MDC
will support the motion from ZANU-PF calling for sanctions to be
lifted.Meanwhile, human rights groups in Zimbabwe said opposition activists
detained on charges they plotted to overthrow are failing in health having been
denied adequate medical treatment, VOA correspondent Peta Thornycroft reported
from
Harare.

Looming Zimbabwe Unity Government Offers Hope For Anti-Cholera
Fight

http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-02-09-voa41.cfmBy
Marvellous Mhlanga-NyahuyeWashington09 February 2009The expected
formation this week of a national unity government offers hope for some of a
more energetic and focused attack on the cholera epidemic which has claimed some
3,400 lives in the past six months and gives little sign of running its course
in the near term.Executive Director Itayi Rusike of the Community Working
Group On Health said that with a government in place including the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change international donors are more likely to step up
their contributions to the anti-cholera battle, which he said is now focusing on
rural areas where the disease is spreading and claiming lives.Many of those
deaths - two out of three overall - are occurring outside treatment centers,
suggesting people in more isolated areas are unable to transport their sick for
care.Areas of current concern include Gokwe North, in Midlands province,
Chiredzi in Masvingo province, and Makonde in Mashonaland West
province.Rusike told reporter Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye of VOA's Studio 7
for Zimbabwe that the government must urgently address the crumbling water and
sanitation systems to avoid many more infections and deaths from
cholera.

Cholera exhausts health care
system

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=11322February 9,
2009Treatment for a cholera-stricken baby in the Budiriro Health Center for
Cholera in Harare. (Picture by Zimbabwe Times photographer Tsvangirayi
Mukwazhi.)HARARE (NPR) - In December, the World Health Organization’s worst
case scenario for Zimbabwe’s cholera outbreak was that 60 000 people might
become infected before end of March. But already nearly 70 000 cases of cholera
have been reported.Despite the fact that cholera is relatively easy to treat
and to prevent with basic hygiene and appropriate sanitation, more than 3 300
people have died of the disease since the outbreak began in August 2008,
according to the WHO.A simple treatment of oral rehydration can save most
lives, but health experts who have visited Zimbabwe recently say those measures
simply aren’t available because the economy is in meltdown.Under the present
circumstances, it’s easy to forget that Zimbabwe once had one of the best health
systems in Africa. That may have contributed to current problems, according to
Dominique Legros, the WHO’s director of Disease Control in
Emergencies.Because the health system worked, Zimbabweans weren’t familiar
with the disease when the current outbreak started.“It’s a country so
developed that they had very few cases of cholera,” Legros says. “Over the last
year, they had small outbreaks they managed to control in a few
weeks.”“Contrary to some countries, the population [of Zimbabwe], as well as
the health care workers were unfamiliar with the way to prevent it and the way
to treat it,” he says.WHO is beginning a campaign to educate the public and
distribute oral rehydration kits and tablets to decontaminate water.Legros
says was impressed that the health facilities were still in good shape when he
visited Zimbabwe in December, despite the fact that many had no electricity or
running water.“What I have seen are well-trained health-care workers and
decent facilities,” he says. This is something quite different from countries
that have experienced long-term war, he says.Unlike other countries where
the health infrastructure is devastated, Legros says, Zimbabwe won’t be starting
from scratch - if and when measures are taken to improve the
situation.Simple things are most needed, he says. Things like paying the
workers and getting them needed medical supplies, including masks and
gloves.A team of Americans and South Africans investigating the situation
for Physicians for Human Rights found that Zimbabwe is not just facing a cholera
epidemic, but a series of health crises.Dr. Chris Beyrer of Johns Hopkins
University, who was on the team, said he saw one nurse at a rural clinic who was
trying to help two women in labor but didn’t have needles or sutures.“The
nurse said, ‘I have nothing for pain for these women. I have no antibiotics. I
have nothing for post-partum hemorrhage.’”Beyrer says that if one of the
women had suffered a tear during delivery, the nurse would have had no way to
repair it.Zimbabwe, even before this crisis, had a high caseload of people
infected with HIV. The rate of infection among adults is estimated at 15
percent, according to the WHO.For every person dying of cholera, Beyrer
says, another 10 people are dying of AIDS.Beyrer was particularly concerned
about people with HIV, because they were running out of anti-AIDS
medications.Worse than that, Beyrer says, HIV patients told the team of
visiting doctors that the combinations of drugs they were taking were repeatedly
changed.“So, people are being switched on drug regimens, sometimes every two
weeks,” he says. Patients were getting “all the negative effects of being on
different drugs without the benefits.”They ran the risk of generating
another public health problem because swaping anti-retroval drugs causes
resistance. The same thing is happening with the drugs for tuberculosis
patients.To remedy the situation, Physicians for Human Rights recommends
that Zimbabwe’s sanitation system be put in receivership - and run by
international health organizations - while the government is in transition.
Humanitarian assistance to treat cholera has been pouring in, but has not
significantly reduced the death rates.Despite news reports of health workers
abandoning health facilities, Beyrer says he found a tremendous number of
doctors and nurses still trying to do their jobs, even though they hadn’t been
paid in months.A physician showed him one nurse’s pay stub.“Her monthly
salary came out to about 36 cents (U.S.),” he says. “Their monthly salary is now
worth less than their bus fare to the bank to pick it up.”Both the WHO and
Physicians for Human Rights acknowledge that the political situation makes it
difficult to get money to workers who need to be paid in dollars and other
foreign currency, since the Zimbabwe dollar is virtually worthless.Some
non-governmental organizations such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and
Malaria, and the World Food Program are still operating in the country. But the
assistance often does not reach some provinces of the country, all of which have
been affected by the catastrophe.As for the WHO’s worst case scenario now,
it is that these conditions will become endemic, if the country’s water supply
and health care systems are not repaired. Once past the rainy season in March,
the threat of a malaria outbreak looms.Read the article by the Physicians
for Human Rights or the press release from the World Health
Organization.

Cholera cases soar as Zim readies for unity
govt

http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=4227by Own
Correspondent Tuesday 10 February 2009* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *MORGAN TSVANGIRAI . . . opposition MDC party leader set to
be sworn in as Prime Minister tomorrowJOHANNESBURGA cholera epidemic has
infected more than 69 000 Zimbabweans, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said
on Monday as the country’s political leaders prepare to form a unity government
to halt a humanitarian and economic crisis threatening the lives of millions of
people.The WHO, leading efforts to combat cholera in Zimbabwe, said the
disease had killed 3 397 people out of 69 317 cases recorded since the start of
the epidemic last August.The international health watchdog, which described
Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic as the deadliest outbreak of the disease in Africa
in 15 years, had previously said its experts expected that up to 60 000 people
could be infected with cholera in the worst-case scenario - which is turning out
to have been a gross underestimation of the extent of the epidemic.In
addition to cholera, Zimbabweans also have to grapple with the world’s highest
inflation of 231 million percent as of last July, acute shortages of food
affecting seven million people or more than half the country’s entire
population, deepening poverty and crumbling infrastructure after nearly a decade
of recession.The formation of a unity government that begins with the
swearing in of opposition MDC party leader Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister
tomorrow has raised hopes that the political situation could be eased and the
country can focus on halting the slide into total meltdown.South African
President Kgalema Motlanthe, whose country played a critical role in securing
the power-sharing agreement between President Robert Mugabe and Tsvangirai, told
the media this week that the sworn enemies had no option but to work together to
pluck Zimbabwe out of crisis."Whether they like it or not, or whether they
like each other or not, they are bound to work together if anything is to be
passed by that assembly (unity government) and if the country itself is to pull
itself out of poverty and disintegration of its infrastructure," said
Motlanthe.However many people remain immensely sceptical that the unity
government - in which Arthur Mutambara, who heads smaller faction of the MDC,
will also serve as a deputy prime minister - can stand the strain given
deep-seated mistrust between Mugabe and Tsvangirai.In addition, Western
countries - whose financial support is vital to any programme to resuscitate
Zimbabwe’s collapsed economy - remain unconvinced that a unity government led by
Mugabe will implement wide ranging economic and political reforms required to
revive the southern African country.“If Zimbabwe is going to attract that
support, it requires a durable government that reflects the will of the people
and is capable of delivering genuine reform,” Britain’s embassy in Harare said
at the weekend.Britain is Zimbabwe’s former colonial power and wields
immense influence on European Union policy on Harare.“Given Mugabe’s
resistance to change to date, his failed economic policies and his propensity to
rail against the outside world, it is unlikely that any government involving
Mugabe will inspire donor confidence and attract the support it so badly needs,”
the embassy said, increasing fears there will not be immediate inflows of aid to
Zimbabwe.Without substantial international support, there are only slim
chances Zimbabwe’s unity government could be able to turn around the fortunes of
the
country.ZimOnline

Zimbabwe - Solidarity Group Challenges SA Parliament to Speak Out On
Crisis

http://allafrica.com/stories/200902091471.htmlSW Radio Africa
(London)Alex Bell9 February 2009The Save Zimbabwe Now solidarity
campaign has taken its fight to end the violence and oppression in Zimbabwe to
South African parliamentarians - challenging the influential group of political
leaders to speak out against the ongoing abuses in their neighbouring
country.In a letter sent to the opening of South Africa's parliament last
week, the campaign said the group of parliamentarians must use their positions
to speak out against the atrocities still being committed in Zimbabwe, as well
as to push for free and fair elections there. In the letter the campaign argued
that "however convenient the current agreement [to form a unity government] may
be, it has not produced a legitimate outcome," and only elections under a
people-driven constitution will ever achieve this. The campaign has also urged
Parliament to act on the deplorable conditions that thousands of exiled
Zimbabweans are living in after fleeing to South Africa, a situation the group
has said parliament can address immediately.The Save Zimbabwe Now campaign,
which is a coalition of NGOs, human rights groups, activists and other
individuals who have pledged to fight for an end to the Zimbabwe crisis, has
been highlighted by a global call for rolling hunger strikes and fasts. High
profile activists and leaders, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have committed
themselves to fasting, in solidarity with starving and crisis weary Zimbabweans
and, to date, more than 40 000 people have joined the worldwide cause to fast
and pressure the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African
Union (AU) leaders to act in Zimbabwe.The group's efforts are now set to
intensify as violence, oppression and hunger continue to worsen across Zimbabwe,
despite the agreement by the country's political leaders to form a unity
government. At least eight people abducted in recent months have remained
unaccounted for, while more than 30 others are still being held behind bars on
trumped up charges. At the same time, there are growing reports of mass
starvation across the country as the food crisis deepens, and the UN has said
more than seven million Zimbabweans are in critical need of food aid.Kumi
Naidoo, who is a former anti-apartheid activist and honorary president of the
World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS), is days away from completing
his 21 day hunger strike, before the Chair of the Commission for Gender Equality
in South Africa, Nomboniso Gasa, takes up the challenge by fasting for 21 days,
as of
Wednesday.

Jomic to Look At Deregulating Media
Laws

http://allafrica.com/stories/200902091469.htmlSW Radio Africa
(London)Tichaona Sibanda9 February 2009The media sub committee of
the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) will try to meet with
the new information minister next week, to start work on the deregulation of
draconian media laws.The new minister will be appointed from ZANU PF, which
has controlled the media with an iron fist since independence almost 29 years
ago. Many observers are concerned that with the regime still in control of such
an important ministry, it will be extremely difficult to enforce changes.But
the Global Political Agreement, signed by all parties to the inclusive
government, called for the country's tough media laws to be changed and to allow
private radio, television and daily newspapers to operate under a unity
government.JOMIC is a special multi-party taskforce mandated with
supervising the implementation of the inclusive government. This includes
working to ensure the immediate processing by the appropriate authorities of all
applications for re-registration and registration, in terms of both the
Broadcasting Services Act as well as the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act.Frank Chamunorwa, a senior member of the MDC-M who sits on the
JOMIC media sub committee, told us time was of the essence to ensure that the
inclusive government takes appropriate measures to achieve these objectives as
quickly as possible. Others members of this sub committee are Tabitha Khumalo,
an MDC-T MP in Bulawayo and Oppah Muchinguri, a former ZANU PF MP in
Manicaland.'We are just waiting for the minister to be sworn in on Friday
and we are hopeful by early next week we will be knocking on his door to
introduce ourselves,' Chamunorwa said.Although Zimbabwe became independent
in 1980 it's constitutional claims of being a democracy have been dented by the
regime's failure to facilitate the licensing of private media players, including
radio and television stations. In 2000 Capital Radio won the right in the
Supreme Court to open the country's first independent radio station. But this
was shut down at gunpoint after just 6 days. In response to this legal challenge
to it's broadcasting monopoly, the regime enacted the Broadcasting Services Act
(BSA), which brought about the establishment of the regulatory board, the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), which has not licensed a single
private station. The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation remains the sole
broadcaster in the country, despite calls from all sectors of the media to free
the airwaves.The country still lags behind most of its neighbours. South
Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Botswana opened up their airwaves long
ago and have witnessed huge strides in the broadcasting industry.Chamunorwa
said they would be visiting these regulations that have inhibited the
registration of independent media players.'We want this whole thing
expedited so that interested parties can be encouraged to make applications for
broadcasting licences in terms of the law. Three months from now, we would be in
better position to know when new independent players can start operating in the
country,' Chamunorwa said.According to Chamunorwa the committee has demanded
that public media, as well as the independent weekly papers, refrain from using
abusive language that may incite hostility, political intolerance and ethnic
hatred or that unfairly undermines political parties and other
organisations.During a meeting with representatives of media houses on
Friday, JOMIC chairperson for the month of February Professor Welshman Ncube
said the media have an important role to play in reducing the political tension
that has gripped the country over the past 10 years.Ncube urged the media,
both public and private to assist in promoting national healing as the country
moves to form an inclusive Government on Friday.The chairperson for JOMIC
rotates, on a monthly
basis.

Zimbabwe - There is Little Chance of the MDC Terming Robert
Mugabe

http://allafrica.com/stories/200902090775.htmlMmegiBotswanaDon-Martin
Ropafadzo6 February 2009OpinionZimbabweans have been swindled. And,
to make matters worse, the swindlers themselves are complaining that they didn't
get a good deal.The MDC is whining and complaining about its chosen partner
as if they did not know what ZANU-PF's intentions were from the very
beginning.I fail to understand how these party people reach their decisions
and if they discuss anything at all.Real grassroots people consultations,
like we used to see in Morgan Tsvangirai's old ZCTU days, have been
discarded.It appears as if the MDC's national executive, its highest
decision making body, seems to now be rubber stamping decisions ZANU-PF
style.In September of last year, the MDC carelessly signed an agreement
without having covered or addressed all the contentious issues that were
paramount to the setting up of and the implementation of a Government of
National Unity (GNU). The agreement was supposed to direct and safeguard the
operations of the GNU. That agreement was never implemented because those
outstanding issues the MDC ignored when they signed were the very same ones that
caused problems; and they continue to do so after yet another SADC Summit. At
the Pretoria Summit, Tsvangirai was, once again, quick to accept the SADC
directive without the full information that came with it and, apparently,
without much consultation, causing mumblings from within his negotiating team.
There were rumblings of discontent and rumours started circulating to the effect
that the main MDC was itself split in two over the SADC directive. Then we
cheered when we heard that there would be a meeting of its national executive,
but we became immediately discomfited when we were told that the meeting would
be taking place that very Friday, hardly three days after the SADC meeting,
meaning that there was not going to be deeper or widespread consultations and
the people's views over such a serious and extremely important issue would not
be given a chance to be heard.MDC national treasurer, Roy Bennett, whom we
all believed was in great danger if the ZANU-PF goons ever got close to him,
surprisingly flew into Harare from exile in South Africa like someone returning
from a safari.Yet, we, however, know that in spite of this agreement, there
are people who would never see tomorrow if they so much as set foot in Zimbabwe
today.Bennett, like many senior MDC officials, is free in Zimbabwe today but
many MDC supporters and junior officials are either in jail or underground,
along with human rights activist Jestina Mukoko and many MDC people who are
being held for, among other things, supporting a party whose National Treasurer
Bennett is.In simpler words, ZANU-PF is giving freedom and protection to MDC
leaders but continues to arrest and incarcerate MDC supporters or those
perceived to be such.Is it not ZANU-PF's slogan that mwana we nyoka inyoka
chete?(A baby snake is a snake).The MDC is being duped and those at the
top of the MDC hierarchy are smiling as they are treated as royalty because
ZANU-PF wants sanctions lifted. ZANU-PF wants MDC leaders minus their
supporters. Am I missing something here?The SADC Summit, the MDC's reaction
to the directive imposed on it and the aftermath of the whole exercise prove
beyond any doubt that the MDC thinks as it walks instead of taking just a little
time to chew an issue over, searching for the right decision and giving people a
chance to also offer some input.It continues to allow itself to be rushed
and they make fatal mistakes.For a few days after the summit, the MDC was
busy denying and deflecting rumours of deep divisions within their camp. And
then suddenly, everyone was talking unity and reiterating their combined desire
to join the government of national unity, based on the September 15, 2008
agreement. In a statement after the meeting of his national executive last
Friday, Tsvangirai himself said that, sadly, Zanu-PF was not the type of
constructive and positive partner that he envisaged when he signed the
GPA."Let us make no mistake, by joining an inclusive government, we are not
saying that this is a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis, instead our participation
signifies that we have chosen to continue the struggle for a democratic Zimbabwe
in a new arena..." said Tsvangirai.This means that the MDC has always known
that joining hands with ZANU-PF offered no solutions but they are saying that
they are choosing "to continue the struggle in another arena". Apparently, an
arena infested with ZANU-PF and one in which we, the people, are not
invited."We in the MDC are convinced that there is no intention on the part
of ZANU-PF to put all these issues to rest," said Nelson Chamisa, Secretary for
Publicity and Information, hardly a week after jumping into bed with
ZANU-PF.Chamisa went on to concede that there is no wish, on the part of
ZANU-PF, to consummate an inclusive government in line with SADC
resolutions."In short, there is no wish to tackle the outstanding issues as
directed by the SADC Heads of State," he said.But they are the ones knocking
and hammering on the door to be let into their own house.After being fooled
by Mugabe and ZANU-PF and after being duped into signing a fraudulent document
and after Mugabe refused to implement the agreement, am I to believe that there
was ever a time that the MDC actually believed they could trust and work with
Mugabe and ZANU-PF?Are these people in MDC leadership like the rest of
us?Do they see what we see and hear what we hear?Just how can they be so
naive?Now the MDC is back to its routine of always complaining as if SADC
cares; as if the so-called African Union, now under the 'leadership' of one
Muammar Gaddafi, cares. Does the MDC expect any one of these tyrants to hear
their unceasing complaints against Mugabe and act on them?There is
absolutely no way ZANU-PF and the MDC can jointly run a ministry together, let
alone a country. There are some who say the MDC did the right thing so as to
expose that it is ZANU-PF that is not willing to compromise and show willingness
to cooperate. That, of course, is nonsense. ZANU-PF made its intentions public
during the March elections and the MDC knows it.ZANU-PF refused to cooperate
and it is the MDC that is always cooperating with ZANU-PF and not the other way
round.The people knew all about ZANU-PF and that is why they voted for the
MDC.The MDC should have simply refused to join this GNU thing. The MDC has
clearly sold the people out.It's called treachery.Is this what the
people have been waiting for all these years?Is this the best the MDC can
offer its staunch supporters many of whom have died for it?Apart from their
well-known ability to complain, what does the MDC offer the people now?What
does the MDC intend to do with Mugabe and his war crimes?The MDC cannot
forgive Mugabe on behalf of the people, can they?Are they then going to
protect Mugabe, Chiwenga, Mnangagwa, Shiri, Chihuri and all the known murderers
from not only the Zimbabwean people but from the international community who are
screaming genocide every day?Is the MDC going to tell the world that it has
such a big heart that it can have hundreds of its supporters killed by one man
who has killed thousands of other citizens that it can still forgive that
man?If, for example, because of joining this government, Roy Bennett demands
and gets his farm back, is he going to take it knowing that 10's of others were
killed for simply owning farms and not for opposing Mugabe the way Bennett
did?The MDC must revise its sellout decision. I thank Botswana's Ian Khama
for his principled stand and support. I hope he keeps supporting the people of
Zimbabwe if, as it appears, they feel betrayed by the MDC.I thank Jakaya
Kikwete of Tanzania and Zambia's Rupia Banda for trying to show African despots
that the people of any nation come before the
leaders.

Zimbabwe opposition leader to be sworn-in as
Premier

http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=show_article_eng&id_article=88360Zimbabwe-Unity-GovernmentAPA-Harare
(Zimbabwe)Thousands of Zimbabweans are expected to witness the swearing-in
ceremony of prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai at an exhibition park in
the capital Harare on Wednesday, his party has announced here.Opposition
leader Tsvangirai\’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the ceremony
would take place at Glamis Stadium located within the Harare Exhibition Park, a
stone’s throw from the venue of more than six months of tough power-sharing
negotiations between the MDC and ZANU PF of President Robert Mugabe.The MDC
said Tsvangirai would use the occasion to address Zimbabweans on the new
political dispensation.\"No party regalia will be entertained at the event
as this is not a party occasion but a major national event. This will be a
historic occasion for the country. It marks the beginning of a new era, the
final miles of a journey to a new Zimbabwe,\" the MDC said.The prime
minister-designate, together with his two deputies, would be sworn-in by Mugabe
during a ceremony that would have been inconceivable this time last
year.Mugabe and Tsvangirai have fought a bitter eight-year battle for
control of Zimbabwe, with the former accusing his opponent of being a Western
\"stooge\" used by Britain and the United States to effect an illegal regime
change in the southern African country.Their dispute worsened after disputed
elections in March and June 2008 which were marred by violence. They only agreed
to form a coalition government after the intervention of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC).SADC brokered a power-sharing agreement between
the two men in September 2008 but the consummation of the deal was delayed for
four months over a disagreement about the composition and structure of the unity
government.JN/nm/APA2009-02-10

$ 150m investment support for African small
firms

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/150m-investment-support-for-african-small-firms-2009-02-09INVESTMENTBy:
Creamer Media Reporter9th February 2009The political risk insurance arm
of the World Bank, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (Miga), is
facilitating the investment of $ 150-million to small businesses in sub-Saharan
Africa, as part of its ongoing response to the global financial crisis.Miga
said that it had entered into a contract with the African Development
Corporation (ADC), which would allow it to provide political risk coverage for
up to 20 of ADC’s planned small-scale investments in the banking, real estate,
information technology, telecommunications, agriculture, and service sectors in
countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa.“This blanket commitment of Miga’s
guarantee capacity will help ADC raise risk capital at a critical juncture. The
precipitous decline in foreign direct investment is threatening to erode the
significant gains in growth that the African subcontinent has seen in the last
several years. These investments will benefit small- and medium-sized
enterprises, which generate the vast majority of jobs,” said Miga executive vice
president Izumi Kobayashi.The contract governs the issuance of future
guarantees for a maximum aggregate liability of $ 150-million, and the risk
covered included transfer restrictions, expropriation, war, and civil
disturbance.Miga’s underwriter for contracts, Hal Bosher, said that the
master contract would facilitate the rapid issuance of Miga’s coverage. “We
will, however, review each investment to ensure eligibility and compliance with
our underwriting standards, including the environmental and social
impact.”Bosher added the ADC was specifically chosen for the organisation’s
commitment to Africa’s sustained development. “ADC’s value-added is that they
invest substantial know-how together with capital. These are the types of
investments that will help drive innovation and growth.”Kobayashi said that
the contract was one of several initiatives to address the financial crisis, and
to ensure liquidity in the financial sector. “Miga expects that this guarantee
structure will be replicated for other similar funds or investors seeking to
attract capital in today’s difficult financial environment.”“This is a
global crisis and we need to do our part to help ensure there is financing
available to spur innovation and help countries continue on a path of growth,”
she concluded.Edited by: Mariaan
Webb

Africans, don't blame the
whites

http://www.opinioneditorials.com/freedomwriters/mnsehe_20090210.htmlFebruary
10, 2009Mfonobong NseheRecently, as part of an academic assignment at
school, I was engaged in an intellectual debate with a few colleagues. We were
seeking answers to the roots of Africa´s problems. It was an interesting
discussion for me. Shockingly, the majority of my colleagues subscribed to the
idea that the major cause of Africa´s social-political and economic problems was
the legacy left behind by the colonial masters. As far as they were concerned,
the colonialists ruined Africa for good. For the records, they had some strong
arguments to support their claims. I do not intend to go into that.Africa is
known as the problem continent. And indeed, the problems are legion- Poverty,
diseases, famine, poor leadership, religious conflicts, ethnic clashes and
corruption are a few of them. With each passing day, the problems increase. For
long, the economic and social underdevelopment of the African nation has been
blamed on white colonialists who exploited the land and left Africa bare. Up
till now, the blame game continues.Africans are usually quick to blame most
of its problems on the evils of colonialism. We sometimes blame the violence on
the borders colonialists created that ignored ethnicity. Many African nations
have been independent for four decades. If colonial borders were a major
problem, how come they haven't changed them?Colonialism cannot explain Third
World poverty. Some of today's richest countries are former colonies, such as
the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Some of today's
poorest countries were never colonies, such as Ethiopia, Liberia, Tibet, Nepal
and Bhutan. The colonialism argument is simply a cover-up for African dictators
and people.For as long as African keep bickering about the past without
focusing on the future, the African people will continue to suffer. Pointing
fingers at the colonial masters won't change the fact that the majority of
people in Africa are living and dying in horrible conditions. The Europeans
colonized Africa about 400 years ago. Right now, Africans are in trouble because
they cannot manage their own problems. Instead of brainstorming and finding
solutions to its numerous social and economic problems, the people hold out a
begging bowl to the west in one hand, while punishing the remaining white people
in the land with the other. (Does Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe and the Zimbabweans
come to mind?)We are responsible for our problems, but we prefer to blame
others than to take a good look in the mirror. Fine, the colonialists were a
bunch of bunch of greedy no-gooders, but if truths must be told, the
self-interest of early colonialists pales in comparison to the personal greed of
African leaders today. Those who blame Africa's problems on colonialism must not
forget that the experience was not unique to Africa. Generally, the Asian
countries that also experienced colonialism are doing fairly well. So what has
Africa, or to be more precise, its leaders, been doing for the past 40
years?What Africa needs is a lot of self-criticism. The fact that Africa
breeds and worships figures like Mugabe, because of their own anti-white racism
is disheartening. It's incredible that any white sends aid to Africa when
Africans are anti-white racists.You can't solve Africa's problems until the
lies are all stripped away and you start comparing yourself to say Taiwan.
Taiwan is not white, yet they have made amazing progress. They made this
progress by managing their economy properly, and by working hard.We need to
strip away the black ideology that says that whites didn't do anything other
than enslave blacks and are rich because of the exploitation of blacks. Taiwan
didn't get rich because of that. So why do Africans think that that's how whites
got rich?And blacks enslaved blacks too; it's part of human history
everywhere. So why isn't Africa rich due to the enslavement of
themselves?Were Africans better off under colonial administration than the
despots who replaced them?Most African countries have had their independence
for over three decades, yet, the report card our leaders have shown us are wars,
famine and gross corruption. While it may be argued that Britain and other
European countries did us more harm than good in colonizing us, it is high time
we faced reality and realized that we are the architects of our own destiny. We
need to choose what is good and bad, what future we want, and whether
colonialism took us closer to what we want.It's time we as Africans took
responsibility for our troubles and stopped trying to guilt-trip the West into
accepting responsibility for our problems. Since time immemorial, there have
been empires- even African. These empires have always left great damage in their
wake, but such damage is rectified through rebuilding and hard work, but not by
laying blames and casting aspersions. As long as we look back in history to
blame our troubles on the colonial masters, Africa will continually be the
backward continent the whole world believes we are. To turn around the fortunes
of Africa, it will take work and vision. And so Africa, enough with the blame
games. Let´s shut up, re-examine ourselves, go back to the drawing board,
rectify our mistakes and move on with our lives.Mfonobong Nsehe is looking
for a scholarship to study Journalism in Kenya. E-mail: mfon.nsehe@gmail.com

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/traps/2009/02/08/cope-should-put-moeletsi-mbeki-forward-as-presidential-candidate/Over
the weekend we were treated to speculation regarding the candidates which the
Congress of the People (Cope) will put forward for the office of president. The
Cope president Mosiuoa Lekota will not per se become the party’s nomination for
the top post with his first deputy Mbhazima Shilowa and possibly even former
president Thabo Mbeki’s deputy Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcukastepping into the frame as
well.While there is nothing wrong with any of the candidates set out above,
given the choice of any South African that I would like to see as our next
president, Mbeki’s brother Moeletsi Mbeki would be my number one pick.This
other son of former ANC leader Govan Mbeki certainly has the right credentials
and would be nobody’s manipulated figurehead as his past conduct has clearly
demonstrated. Moeletsi is a journalist, political economist and analyst, the
deputy chairperson of the South African Institute of International Affairs and
perhaps Thabo’s fiercest critic when it comes to key areas like
Zimbabwe.Indeed he has been so outspoken that he even cracked the Snuki
Zikalala blacklist - a badge of honour to be worn with pride if ever I saw
one.Yet it is his knowledge with regard to economics both local and global,
his refusal to pander to the elite and his grasp of what is required to balance
the needs of all levels of South African society, more than his courage and
speaking truth to power, which makes him stand out.Here is a candidate who
understands how local and international politics work and who is capable of
diplomatically prising us away from the elitist dead end that is currently
African politics and remaking us as a reliable partner for the global community.
With his knowledge of economics and specifically African economics within the
global context, he would achieve this while extracting maximum benefit for our
assuming this new role.Currently we are viewed as everything from a regional
power to a rogue democracy. We are a short hop, skimp and jump away from taking
up our rightful place on the world stage provided we consistently start doing
the right things. In Moeletsi, I believe, the planet would have a good man in
Africa.Cope would have a leader of integrity and someone who would give all
other parties good reason to pause. Someone who would raise the bar and ensure
that parties give careful consideration as to the person they nominate as their
presidential
candidate.

Gaddafi condemns African
democracy

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=11250February 8,
2009Geoffrey NyarotaADDIS ABABA (BBC)The new African Union (AU)
chairman, Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi, has said that multi-party democracy in
Africa leads to bloodshed.Speaking at the AU summit in Ethiopia, Col Gaddafi
said Africa was essentially tribal and political parties became tribalised,
which led to bloodshed.He concluded the best model for Africa was his own
country, where opposition parties are not allowed.Analysts say the AU is in
for an interesting year under Col Gaddafi.The BBC’s Mark Doyle, at the AU
summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, says many may wonder what
direction the 53-member organisation will take under his leadership over the
next 12 months.At the final press conference of the summit on Wednesday, Col
Gaddafi sought to back up his argument by citing other countries like Kenya,
where elections in December 2007 were followed by ethnic killings, and war-torn
Somalia.“We don’t have any political structures (in Africa), our structures
are social,” Reuters news agency quotes him as saying.“Our parties are
tribal parties - that is what has led to bloodshed.”The Libyan leader’s
remarks could prove controversial in a continent where people have struggled for
decades to have more open systems of government, says our correspondent.He
adds it seems likely activists who have fought for multi-party democracy in
countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal may profoundly disagree
with the new AU chairman.While these activists accept that ethnicity plays a
big role in African politics, they insist the advantages of democracy over
dictatorship are undeniable.What can Gaddafi offer the AU?The summit had
to be extended into a fourth day after disagreements over Col Gaddafi’s plan to
create a United States of Africa.The Libyan leader envisages a single
African military force, a single currency and a single passport for Africans to
move freely around the continent.Col Gaddafi had used his inaugural address
as rotating head of the AU to push his long-cherished unity project and called
for integration to begin immediately.But many of his fellow leaders said the
proposal would add an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.They said they would
study the unity proposal, make a report and meet again in three months
time.In other words, our correspondent says, they are kicking the ball into
the long grass.One participant in the closed-door AU meeting said Col
Gaddafi appeared to admit defeat and laid his head on the table in despair,
before he swept out.Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said: “He
didn’t walk out, he just got tired.”Before arriving at the summit, Col
Gaddafi circulated a letter saying he was coming as the king of the traditional
kings of Africa.Last August, he had a group of 200 traditional leaders name
him the “king of kings” of
Africa.

Zimbabweans' right to
protection

http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=1271474Hugh
Segal, National PostPublished: Tuesday, February 10, 2009Lloyd Axworthy
had two breakthroughs as foreign minister: gathering a large consensus and many
signatories for a convention and treaty on ending anti-personnel mine use (the
Ottawa Treaty) in 1997, and chairing a task force for the UN on humanitarian
intervention which came up with the "responsibility to protect" doctrine, later
adopted by the United Nations in 2000.Unfortunately, the "responsibility to
protect" commitment seems to have come to an end with Zimbabwe, a humanitarian
nightmare and international embarrassment. No country more directly requires
international intervention. No population requires protection from its
government more urgently. But the world has provided neither.The
"responsibility to protect" convention established two criteria for
intervention: a population whose government can provide no help, or one whose
government has set about to harm. Today's citizens of Zimbabwe are sadly
victimized by both. So why are expeditionary military measures not being put in
place to liberate the women being raped by the young thugs of Mugabe's Zanu-PF,
the children dying of cholera and the opposition voters who are being tormented,
beaten and murdered?Why have special forces not removed Mugabe (who claims
Zimbabwe "is mine") to The Hague?Why has the leadership of the Zimbabwe
armed forces (who have a reasonable reputation among African militaries) not
been engaged by military colleagues in Africa and elsewhere to become "leaders
in relief delivery" and convince Mugabe to leave in the nation's
interest?Why has South Africa been allowed to be so hands-off in its alleged
hands-on approach?There are two possibilities. The first is that there is a
double standard. If it is blacks who are suffering - well, then the world thinks
the matter is somewhat less urgent than when whites are suffering. Witness the
engagement of NATO allies on Kosovo vs. the inaction on Zimbabwe. The second
possibility is angst about a European or Western force entering a predominantly
black country --and confronting the Zimbabwean military.Intervention is
sometimes more demanding than just dropping food aid or sending in white UNHCR
land cruisers. If the "responsibility to protect" really meant the
responsibility to intervene to save lives only when there is no risk of hard
feelings or casualties, then the policy proposal shaped by Axworthy's task force
should have said so.The various appropriate American, Canadian, British,
French, South African and other potential coalition command centres should be
planning the appropriate intervention now. If stealing farms and land from
minority citizens, killing and beating opposition voters, plunging the country
into famine, raping female supporters of other political parties and allowing
cholera to spread while denying its continued existence does not constitute
humanitarian destruction, then what does?Does Mugabe's role as a front line
anti-apartheid leader buy him a pass whatever cruelties, insanity or brutality
he unleashes on his own people?Like Hitler in the 1930s, Mugabe is counting
on Western evasion of responsibility and pusillanimous principles. Hitler
watched Mussolini get away with "Abyssinia" while the League of Nations did
nothing other than impose weak economic sanctions on Italy. A question for Mr.
Axworthy, his fellow Liberals and our Conservative government in Canada: Who is
now watching Mugabe and learning from his corruption and cruelty and the West's
insouciant response?- Senator Hugh Segal is former chair of the Senate
Foreign Affairs Committee and vice-chair of the Canadian International Council.
InMay, 2007, his motion to withdraw our ambassador from, and end diplomatic
relations with, Zimbabwe was passed unanimously by the Senate of
Canada.

In
Zimbabwe, A Death Toll We’ve
Ignored

http://www.emorywheel.com/detail.php?n=26532By Ryan
SealsPosted: 02/09/2009Last December, British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown called for international intervention in Zimbabwe in the face of a growing
cholera epidemic and a recently stolen election. At the time, the death toll had
reached 600, with the prospect of 60,000 infected and 3,000 dead.The World
Health Organization now estimates that the epidemic will affect more than
100,000 individuals and that it has already killed 3,300.Cholera, for the
record, is an easily treatable disease. The death rate falls below 1 percent
when properly addressed through simple re-hydration therapy and common drugs.
But the current Zimbabwean epidemic has a death rate of 5.7 percent, ranging to
50 percent in the most affected rural areas.The figures demonstrate that
it’s far too reductionist to describe this epidemic as simply a case of improper
sanitation and access to drugs. It’s inconceivable that the current epidemic,
which began last August, would have gone unaddressed for nearly as long in any
of Zimbabwe’s neighboring countries. Other forces are clearly at play
here.This epidemic is one of poverty and political instability. More than
that, this is an epidemic caused by a recalcitrant dictator dangerously blind to
his own failings.On that front, this week we can look forward to the
swearing-in of Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister in a power-sharing agreement
with Zimbabwe’s longtime autocrat Robert Mugabe. The cholera epidemic began last
year in urban areas during the height of the contested election between the two,
which international observers widely condemned as having been rigged by
Mugabe.Brown was, for a time, the only prominent international leader
recognizing the intersection of Mugabe’s corrupt regime and his refusal to allow
international aid to alleviate the epidemic.But uproar waned as Mugabe made
overtures toward Tsvangirai and the power-sharing government that will be
realized this week. It remains to be seen if the government will be effective,
stable or anything more than Mugabe’s puppet.The case in Zimbabwe deserved
more attention than it received. There are countless odious regimes around the
world, and several on the continent of Africa alone. At the same time, daunting
health challenges abound - many are prevalent in relatively stable
democracies.But Zimbabwe exhibited a unique mix - how human rights
violations can affect health and cause a devastating epidemic. It elicited
reactions not only from the standard human rights organizations and development
agencies concerned with corrupt regimes and political instability, but also from
health agencies accustomed to reporting statistics and remaining
apolitical.Unfortunately, international media coverage, when it can spare
the attention span, has neglected the intersection between the epidemic and the
political intrigue. In the age of the “CNN effect,” where pictures of crises are
beamed to our living rooms, it’s understandably difficult to elicit outrage. But
Zimbabwe offered a striking example of the link between health and human rights,
in a way that chronic malnutrition and refugee camps have so far been unable to
do.Have we filled our quota of African crises?Do Darfur, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Chad and the Central African Republic overwhelm
our senses?Roméo Dallaire, leader of the U.N. peacekeeping mission to Rwanda
during the 1994 genocide, remarked at the height of the killings that “a
reporter with a line to the West is worth a battalion on the ground.”What he
tragically failed to realize is best summed up by the cutting observation by
British historian E.H. Carr: “An American newspaper correspondent in Europe is
said to have laid down the rule that an accident was worth reporting if it
involved the death of one American, five Englishmen, or ten Europeans.” If one
American is worth ten Europeans, one can only imagine how many Africans the
newspaperman would have required in his macabre calculus.Ryan Seals is a
second-year student at the Rollins School of Public Health from Farmington
Hills, Mich.